Open discussion about developments in cultural property, heritage, and repatriation.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Introduction to my passion

This will act as my first post and will serve as a sort of introduction.

I am one of those people who knew what they wanted to be when she was eleven years old. I wanted to be an archaeologist! Who didn't love Indiana Jones growing up?

Since that age, I studied archaeology and fell in love with Pre-Columbian cultures.

Luckily, I grew up in New York and frequented the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET), and I became enchanted by all the artifacts. This probably led me to wonder how these artifacts made the museum their home.

In college at Boston University, my focus became cultural property and the antiquities trade from the point of view of archaeology. I continued this focus in grad school at George Washington University and wrote my thesis on the topic (An Analysis of Repatriation:A Study of the “November Collection” At the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2011).

I am starting this blog to keep myself abreast of the dialogue within cultural property and to continue developing my thoughts. I plan on posting updates on past debates and lawsuits between countries and entities, and new developments within the field of archaeology and museums.

Please lend me your support and constructive criticisms as I am just starting out, and please let me know what topics interest you the most.